The next morning was calmer in the Matsuo family. Her dad's head had cooled down and Ichiyaka had gotten a new pancake recipe to try out that day. Haruki was still in her own world, caught up in what had happened the previous night.
Her father patted her head. "Haru I'm sorry for all the things I said last night, it must have been pretty harsh on you. Please forgive your father."
Haruki looked up at him and nodded. "It's fine."
Her father looked at her face, trying to deduce what emotion she was going through right now. But he found it hard to do so and he blamed it on staying away from his daughter for too long. Yes, Ichiyaka's shimmering career had helped Haruki get enrolled in a good school and give her whatever she wanted, but it didn't give her the love of her parents.
Right now, Daichi wished he could just press the rewind button and do it all over again, but this is life. And there is no restart to life. What mattered now was to be with her from now on.
He looked up at Ichiayaka and they shared a smile. They will be there for their daughter from now on.
"Haru," Ichiyaka tousled her hair before putting down her plate in front of her. "That's a nice bracelet, did grandma give it to you?"
Haruki blinked and then looked down at her bracelet. "Oh… I don't really remember if it was grandpa or grandma…"
"Ah, I see," Ichiyaka nodded, "You didn't have it on yesterday."
That made Haruki look up at her in confusion. "I didn't?"
Ichiyaka nodded, "What happened?"
Haruki plucked at the chain of her bracelet and wondered when she had put the bracelet on. For some weird reason… she couldn't remember.
"Did you sleep well last night, Haru?" her mother asked in concern. She touched her daughter's forehead to check for a fever and then sat down at the table when she confirmed that her temperature was normal.
"Last night…" Haru's thoughts became muddled. Did she sleep well last night? She remembered feeling angry and hurt and sad. She remembered waking up after her parents had gone to sleep… but what had she done after that?
"I… think so…" she muttered and the family fell into an eerie silence as they ate their pancakes slowly.
Nothing much had happened in the Matsuo family since then and Haruki grew up to be a healthy girl, albeit only 158 cm tall. Grandma Matsuo passed away when Haruki was 15, buried with the wish that she would be tall eventually.
The Matsuo family moved into the original house to give grandpa Matsuo company and sold off the house next to the estate. Haruki didn't return there for a long time.
When Haruki was 17, calls started coming from the foreign country again, begging for Ichiayaka to return and continue her job. For a month, Daichi declined all the calls and didn't even tell his wife about it.
But that month, a manager of one of the fashion agencies took the flight to Japan and knocked on the house door to convince Ichiyaka to return. After a long talk which Haruki made sure to avoid, because hearing all that would just make her break down. She had grown close to her parents eventually and the fact that history was repeating didn't feel very nice in her heart.
She wanted to do her own share of begging and ask Ichiyaka to stay, but that would mean not letting her mother follow her full potential. So Haru stayed silent and watched her mother sign the papers and watched her father book the tickets.
This time, Ichiyaka would be going alone since she knew her ropes around the fashion industry now.
And that brings us back to the place we started with, Haruki waving her mother goodbye with tears in her eyes.
"I made sure the agency will let her come back for a few weeks the next vacation," her father consoled her and Haruki decided to accept the fact.
"Now it's just you, me and grandpa in the house."
Her father frowned and looked down at her. "You sure about that, Haru? I saw the acceptance letter in your room."
Haru's face went pale. "What?! You weren't supposed to see that!"
"You were the one who told me to get the garbage bag in the corner of your room, remember? And the letter was placed open on the table next to that. You can't blame me."
Haruki facepalmed. What will she do now? Her father knew, and she didn't know how to explain things to him.
"I think it's a good opportunity, Haru. You've never stepped outside our town even once. Like this, you'll get to learn more about what's around you. And if you're thinking about expenses, you know we can afford it."
"I'm not leaving you guys alone!" Haru protested. If she left too, it would just be her clueless dad and her poor grandpa in the house. How will they fend for themselves? Ichiayaka and Haruki were the brains of the family. Without both of them, what would happen?
"We can handle ourselves, Haruki. You go your own path," her father said like he was reading her mind.
"But-"
Her father placed his hand on our shoulder again. "Come on now, I can only park the car here for 20 minutes, after that they'll start charging a fee. Take your time and think about it."
Haruki slouched under her father's hand and followed him out of the airport. Before she got inside the car, her father hit her back lightly just once, and she straightened her back immediately.
"Don't slouch," he snapped, before getting inside the car. Haruki thought he sounded exactly like her grandma. However crazy she was, things would have been easier if she was here. She, along with Ichiyaka and Haruki, had also been a voice of reason in the Matsuo family.